Part Time Student

Hubby finally got to talk to the principal in our daughter's Thai school. We were a bit worried a few days ago as we found out that Grade 1 students are required to be full time students here in Thailand. We were actually planning to enroll our daughter as a part time student since she's being homeschooled in the afternoons. We just want her to have Thai friends, learn the language and somehow assimilate into the culture.

When Hubby talked with the school principal and explained this, he agreed on letting our daughter go to school but told us that they can't give her any certifications. She comes as a special student and there are some limitations on her activities. I'm not sure though whether she can join school competitions and win trophiess in the future or even join school sports activities.

We actually played on the idea on letting her go full time in Thai school just so she can have all the school certifications and such. But, if she goes as a full time student, then we won't have much time doing homeschool which I feel is more important. So, we finally decided that she goes as a part time student. Thank God for His favor in which the principal allowed her to study part time.

Helping Children with Cleft Palate

Most of the ENT doctors in the Philippines are involved in helping children with birth defects especially kids who have cleft palate. These doctors offer cleft palate surgery for free and some organizations pay for the expenses on medicines and others.

The surgery is offered to poor children who cannot afford to pay the expenses for the operation. This will help to give improvement to the child’s appearance, eating and speech development. Some children who have not undergone the surgery have experience speech disorders as well as peer bullying.

The major cause of cleft palate in children is highly genetic. But some are also caused by certain kinds of drugs. Recently, the drug Topamax has been found to have increased congenital deformities in babies. If you or a loved one has suffered from Topamax cleft palate birth defects, you can help them by filing Topamax lawsuit today.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

God's Protection

We are always thankful for God's constant protection upon us. As we were traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth on a rainy day last week, we saw a lot of road accidents on the way. I was asleep a few times but Hubby and cousin have counted the number of cars and motorcycles involved in the mishaps. And they counted 10! Yes, that was how bad the road was that day. There were even a few of accidents that just happened before we came since it was quite obvious with how the people were reacting.

In the last days in which times are bad and a lot of events are taking place, we could only trust God of His protection. That's why everyday before we go anywhere in the car, our kids are already 'trained' to immediately pray for God's protection. It's a constant reminder for us that indeed our lives are in God's hands alone.

Our Medical Insurance

When Hubby and I were discussing about our health insurance, I was so surprised to find out the overall limit of our health insurance. No, I don't plan to be sick and would try to live as healthy as I can, but it somehow gives us a reassurance that when during our sickness, we won't have anything much to worry about since we are covered.

In the past, I've always considered insurances of any kind as a luxury, but after our son getting an appendectomy with a whooping bill of B XXX,XXX , I'm just thankful to God that our organization got a health insurance for the whole family. Whew! Praise God for His provision! Anyways, if you don't have any health insurance yet, I strongly suggest you get one even like the short term health insurance Blue Cross . You'll never know when you need it and it's good to always be prepared.

Loving Babies

I can’t forget the faces of my babies when they were handed in my arms after I gave birth. I can still remember their cute. chubby faces and the feeling of being the happiest woman in the world. One of the things I did when I see them was to check whether they have complete sets of ears, fingers and toes. I think that's what every mom does. Thank God, my children are normal! I consider them as one of God’s greatest miracles.

My children have grown up now. My girl will be turning 7 years old next month and my boy is already 3 plus. I miss those times when they were still babies, where I cuddle them in my arms and they will just sleep looking so cute and innocent. My friends and relatives have been asking me if I am ready for my 3rd child, but we have decided that two is enough.

It’s indeed a blessing to have babies. If you are trying to get pregnant now, have faith for it will come in the right time. For now, visit your doctor so he/she can help you in conceiving a healthy baby. Also, you will be guided with the proper medications to take. By the way, there are some moms out there who are filing Topamax lawsuits because of the side effects of the anticonvulsant drug called Topamax. It has been known that it increases the risk of birth defects in babies. If you have encountered this drug please avoid them before it’s too late.

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O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

Intermission - Safety First

My kids are both above 3 years old now. They've both passed through the 'choking hazard' stage, you know the stage when they can't play with certain toys because of choking hazards. Indeed, I'm thankful that they're both older now and are growing to be more independent. But still I can't be over confident on this and I still keep an eye on what they're doing and putting in their mouth. One of the things actually that I'm trying to be very careful are the chemical sprays like insecticide or bleach. We don't have shelves or storage spaces for these, so most of these things are reachable by our kids. But since they can already understand, I try to explain to them the reason why they can't touch those things. But as I said, I do keep an eye on them. Maybe we should try to invest on safety cabinets next time. It'll be too much to get those spill kits or spill pallets but safety cabinets should just be nice to keep some chemical substances and stuff that we don't want to let our kids touch.

Their safety is our priority, so we'll try to keep them as safe as possible coupled with our prayers for God to protect them day by day.

Currently Reading : Teaching to Change Lives: Seven Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Come Alive

Yes, this is the book which I'm reading now. It's a very enlightening book not just for teachers but for every parent too. I'm trying to digest this book slowly as I try to apply every principle found on it.

On the first part, it tackles on how we should let the intellectual dimension of our life grow through 1) maintaining a consistent study and reading program 2) enrolling in courses that improves our skill and content 3) studying our students. In short, to be an effective teacher, we must continue to be a learner. How can we teach if our 'intellect' has already ran dry, right?

I'm excited as to what other things are in stored for me in this book. But as I said, I would want to go through it slowly, digesting every morsel of truth found in it and try to practically apply it in my life.

The 'Artistic' Stage

Oh, I just noticed a doodle on the wall in the room. This is one of the many doodles done by my li'l boy in his pursuit to become an 'artist'. Why are the walls more attractive to draw than the paper to a 3 year old, I wonder. He just doesn't make his doodles everywhere but in his curiosity tries to break everything he sees interesting from cabinet knobs to his train toys. When I asked him why he broke his train, he confidently told me, 'Don't worry Amma. I will fix it!". But all the wires are cut and train wheels are already in disarray. Tsk..tsk..tsk.. I think he will either become an artist or an engineer or as he says a " fixer!".. Ironic huh? LOL!!

Too Many Things, Too Little Time

It seems that there are so many things that I've been wanting to do for the past months but everything gets end up being brushed aside as I have other priorities as well. There are times I feel that I need to master the 'art' of organizing my time but on the other hand, there are times that my schedule is actually dependent on the little's ones whom I'm taking care of. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, my li'l boy has been so clingy to me these days, that he even wants me to sit beside him while watching the TV (which is supposed to be my chore time).

So, what has been some of the things that I've been wanting to do? I want to learn new skills, be more involved in our community work, create a new hobby, reorganize our homeschool room, read a book, or maybe learn how to be come a day trader. :) I'm actually still blur about day trading, it does seem interesting though but first let me check on a site that provides all the basic information about this and only then I'll know whether it's for me or not.

Anyways, I will have to slowly fit all of these into my time and do things slowly but surely.

Thank God for Health Insurance

As you may have known, our boy has had an appendectomy 2 weeks ago. We stayed in the hospital for almost a week. If we didn't have health insurance, it would have been stressful for us just thinking of our hospital bills. But praise God that our organization has subscribed a health insurance for the whole family.

A normal appendectomy as they said, won't cost a lot. Our friend only paid 12,000 Baht at a government hospital. But we were surprised that our hospital bill was just so high. It was like a cost of a major operation. Even though our insurance can still cover us, but we can't help but wonder why our bill was so high. The hospital we stayed in wasn't the 'premier' hospital in the city but they still had a great service and we had a comfortable stay. But anyways, we still wrote to the Director and inquired. It's always good to get their explanation from their side. Honestly, we couldn't ask the staff anymore when we got our bill, because we were in a state of shock. It was only a few days after that we realized everything. That is after talking to our local friends to ask if, what we paid was a 'normal' hospital bill.

Anyways, we just glad that everything is over. Our boy is back to normal and is once again very energetic.

But sometimes, I can't help but wonder about those who don't have health insurances and don't have the capacity to pay for their hospital bills. What if their kids have cancer like mesothelioma? How could they manage with the sickness and with the mesothelioma survival rate . How could they manage with their bills? ...I can't help but wonder and I can't help but feel sad....

Craft Stuff

Our friends just gave our center a whole bunch of craft stuffs. We're so excited since most of those materials that they gave can't be found here in our city. So, tomorrow the kids doing our workshop will be doing new crafts such as the Hama Beads and the Foam Door Knobs. I'm sure the kids will enjoy their craft time as my family enjoyed doing the Hama beads ourselves yesterday afternoon.

Here is our girl doing the bear design.

She created a beautiful heart design the other day without following any pattern. I think she'll make a good artist, maybe she'll become a logo graphic designer perhaps? :) ...anyways, here's the monkey design that I enjoyed doing too. hehehe!



Anyways, we would like to thank God for our friends, for blessing the Center with these wonderful craft materials!

Building Up My Newest Blog

My newest blog, Our Homeschool Room ( link on the sidebar) is up now. I've actually been working on this blog for a few months now and it has only been recently that I was really able to tweak on it and made it ready for launching. Now, I'm building it up and I'm reading about adwords management, so it can also be ready to be made as a 'blessing' for us and family. As you may already know, blogging has been a hobby for me and at the same time and a way for me to earn extra income. Though my blogging time is very limited since I can only be online when the kids are asleep, but it has blessed us in many ways.

Clingy

My li'l boy has been very clingy ever since the was sick about 2 weeks ago. I guess he enjoyed the attention so much that until now that he's already well, he has still been clinging to me. Oh, I love to cuddle my kids but then, if they want it too much, I end up not accomplishing anything at home or in my online work. Yes, I can steal some time checking my mails ( some even from business email marketing companies) , read the news or read a few blogs, but I can't move as much as I want to since he always wants me to be near him.

Anyways, I will just have to slowly let go of him and make him more independent. At the same time I'm actually enjoying this 'clingly' time since I know that once boys grow up, the last thing they will do is to cling on their mother's skirts. LOL!